Eddie Leopard Online

Vision Implemented

eddieleopard — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:05:57 +0000

Goal setting, planning, vision casting…we hear these often in business, organizations, leadership strategies and in churches. They are good and needed yet I am reminded of what Don Shula, one of the greatest coaches, said in his book, Everyone’s A Coach, “goal setting is very overrated if all you do is set goals. It’s what happens after the goals are set, it’s the performance, it’s the action taken to reach those goals”.

Andy Stanley says in his book, The Next Generation Leader, “as I listen to leaders tell their stories, I hear very little about strategic planning and goal setting. I hear a lot about identifying and acting on opportunities. Strategies and goals have their place. But they don’t define leadership. Leaders see and seize opportunity. And in most cases, the opportunities take them by surprise”.

Sometimes in church we plan, cast vision and set goals. But what then? Do those goals and plans stay on paper? Does my vision remain in my head or my heart. Don’t forget the implementation. Without that, all we have is a wish list or a dream of what could be.

Excited about Sunday

eddieleopard — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:13:01 +0000

When I started out in ministry I had more than one pastor tell me, “when it comes to preaching, Sunday happens every week and they seem to get closer together”. They were speaking about the pressure to stay fresh and have something relevant to say every week. I find myself feeling that I can hardly wait for Sunday! I don’t want to wish my life away but I can’t wait to see what God will do this Sunday. I am as excited about what God has placed on my heart as I have ever been and can’t wait to share it. We have finished Jonah which was about a fish—this Sunday we will talk about going fishing. I can’t wait.

It’s all about Health

eddieleopard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:22:48 +0000

Sometimes in ministry we become so focused on growth. Growth is good. We strive for numerical growth. We love to see people come to Christ. We praise God when the number of people coming to church increaases. Last night we had 99 people in prayer meeting. There were times in the last few years we had 30. Sunday School numbers are up and we rejoice. The 11:11 contemporary service is close to 500 and that’s great. As a pastor I love to see people grow spiritually through the study of God’s Word and utilizing their spiritual gifts in the body of Christ.

Growth is good! Yet, I was reminded of something the other day that I knew was true but have neglected lately. It’s something I know yet had forgotten. Growth should not be our focus. Our focus should be health! Growth will be a by-product because healthy bodies grow. I needed to be reminded of that principle. Do you?

Blessings Abound

eddieleopard — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:35:41 +0000

I am blown away by the faithfulness and generosity of God’s people. I am amazed at God’s blessings upon this church. Last Sunday my family and I worshipped in a church where they are a million dollars behind budget. It’s a great church, doing a great work but with the economy today that is pretty much the norm. Many churches as well as charitable organizations have felt the squeeze this year. That is why I am so grateful and thankful for God’s hand of blessing. We will close our books this year having received several thousand dollars to the good on expense to receipts. God is good and His people are faithful. Also, in addition to that, several large contributions were made this week totally over $600,000.00. This can be used to help further God’s Kingdom in Aiken and beyond. To God be the glory!

The Living Trees

eddieleopard — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:53:35 +0000

I continue to rejoice at the dedication of God’s people. With the Living Christmas Trees upon us there are dozens of volunteeers putting in many hours in order to make this year’s “Trees” a memorable and worshipful experience for many people. For over 30 years this has been Millbrook’s gift to the Aiken community. As I watched rehearsal I saw some folks who have been a part of all 30 years. I saw others who are participating for the very first time some of whom have joined our church in the past few months.

Pray that voices will hold out, that Bill’s arms will stay up, that heaven will come down, and lives will be changed!

The “P” Word

eddieleopard — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:36:19 +0000

During one of our recruiting visits with my son Stephen, a college coach kept referring to the “p” word. He said, “our job in college is to get the “p” off of players”. The “p” word is potential. So many promising athletes with great potential enter college but never live up to that potential. We hear it said, “he had so much potential”. ” I wish he would play up to his potential”. This coach said it was his job to encourage, coach and help young ballplayers turn that potential into reality.

God has blessed all of us with spiritual gifts and opportunities to further His kingdom. Someone once said, “what we are is God’s gift to us, what we become is our gift to God”. How many of us are realizing our potential spiritually? I am always encouraged when I see people with limited ability athletically or scholastically work hard and give their very best. Oftentimes good things happen to those who give 100%. It’s frustrating to see people who are so blessed with ability, intellect, and resources coast through life. Being lazy and indifferent will often prevent them from reaching their potential. Go for the gold in your spiritual life, strive to reach your potential. Follow the example of Paul in I Corinthians 9:24-27.

Our Lives Preach

eddieleopard — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:29:46 +0000

If we claim to know Jesus, yet we are not living for Him, then we are what is called a practical atheist. An atheist says there is no God. A practical atheist says there is a God but they conduct their lives as if there wasn’t. As a Christian we are called to live the life and how we live our life is a testimony. The question is are we a positive or a negtive testimony?
We are all preachers and we preach a sermon every day by the lives that we live. Listen to the words of the old poem: You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day, by the deeds that you do, by the words that you say. Men read what you write whether faithful or true. Say, what is the gospel accordng to you?
How we treat that waitress preaches a message. Also, how we respond when cut off in traffic, what we say about others and how we treat our spouse and children preaches a message. The challenge—Preach Jesus!

Love one another

eddieleopard — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:37:55 +0000

Our prayer conference with Gregory Frizzell was amazing—I’m reading his latest book “Releasing the revival flood”. So far it’s great. Read here what he says about love of the brethren and unity in the body of Christ:

The greatest reason for seeking a revival flood involves a primary purpose of our existence. And what is that primary purpose? Put simply, it is to know, love and glorify God through seeking His kingdom and exalting His name. And without question, loving one another is a vital part of loving God and seeking His kingdom!

Believers, when we learn to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, we find life itself! “But seek you first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you” Matthew 6:33. “Whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it” Mark 8:35. Indeed life is all about knowing Him, surrrendering to Jesus and walking humbly with our God (John 17:3). Jesus pulled it all together in His two Great Commandments. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it—Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

The Bible leaves no doubt that loving God means loving each other (Matthew 22:37-38; John 13:34-35; 17:21). Today believers must re-discover a vital fact—the two Great Commandments are inseparably linked! In other words, no one can truly love God yet be unkind or bitter toward fellow Christians. In Matthew 5:23 and 6:14-15, Jesus made clear that anger and disunity among believers seriously blocks our relationships with Him. In fact, the entire chapter of John 17 closely ties God’s glory and our witness to dynamic oneness among saints.

In terms of love and fellowship, today’s Church is in a major crisis. Never has our nation seen such devastating disintegration of church family relationships. In fact, what we have witnessed in family structure is no longer a decline, it is an unmitigated collapse! As much or more than any other factors, relational anger and unforgiveness are huge barriers to a modern day revival flood.

God’s priorities vs. Man’s priorities

eddieleopard — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:16:08 +0000

I’ve been fasting from blogging for the past few months. That was by design. I was spending way too much time reading blogs and following pastors and churches and what God was doing in their lives and ministries. God convicted me that I needed to be spending more time with Him than on the computer. I hope you have been following my wife Dawn’s and daughter Chrissie’s blog. (They are on my blogroll). They are better writers and more committed bloggers than I am. And they share some really good stuff.

Now, about spending time with God. Since I’ve been in the ministry I’ve had church members say I need to spend more time in the hospitals, nursing homes or pulpit. (That I should be the one preaching in every service). I’ve had people say I need to spend more time managing the staff, developing a vision or involved in missions. Some think I should spend more time sharing my faith or that I should be more accessible to the congregation. However, there is one thing I have never heard, “our pastor should spend more time in prayer”. Isn’t it interesting that God convicted me in this area of my life. The Bible is right, God’s ways are not our ways. God is always right and He never changes.

What about you? In the busyness of life (and we are all busy) is prayer a priority? It’s not just for pastors. God is waiting to hear from you.

Just Passing Through

eddieleopard — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:33:30 +0000

The Bible tells us that we are strangers here. We are also called aliens, pilgrims or sojourners. Heaven is our home, our eternal destination. We are just passing through this world. No matter how long we live, our stay here is temporary. As Christians our stay in heaven is eternal. This old world itself is winding down and wearing out despite the best intentions of the environmentalists.

Sadly, while we are all here we must endure suffering. Certainly some suffer more than others but noone is immune. This is a broken world. Creation is broken. People are broken. Sooner or later you rub up against a jagged edge and get cut. This should not surprise you, you should expect it.

My encouragement to you is to keep an eternal perspective. Paul tells us in Romans 8:18, “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” People ask, “why is there so much suffering in the world?” Because it is the world and it’s a world marred by sin. Revelation tells us that there will be a day when there is no more suffering, sin or death. For they have passed away.